15 Old Watford Road, Bricket Wood, ST. ALBANS, AL2 3RS

the sub-division of site and use of outbuilding as two bed dwelling and car port as ancillary car parking

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Walker C

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The demonstrably harmful effect on character and appearance caused by backland development with a large footprint in an area characterised by linear, ordered residential plots significantly and demonstrably outweighs the housing benefit of one dwelling when assessed against the Framework as a whole.

The benefits of housing delivery and sustainable location were outweighed by the significant adverse effects on character and appearance, particularly the failure to secure well-designed places as required by paragraph 11(d)(ii) of the Framework

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 5, Policy 69, Policy 70, Policy S1, Policy S3, Policy S5

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.